SEO glossary
301 redirect
A 301 redirect tells browsers and search engines a URL has moved permanently, and passes that URL's ranking signals to the new address; a 302 says the move is temporary and leaves the signals where they were.
Pick by whether the old URL is coming back. Retiring a page, consolidating duplicates, moving to a new domain or to HTTPS — all permanent, all 301. A promotion page pointed at a seasonal offer, an A/B test, a country redirect the visitor can escape — temporary, 302.
Getting it the wrong way round costs differently in each direction. A 302 used for a permanent move keeps Google returning to the old URL and slows the transfer indefinitely. A 301 used for a temporary one is harder to undo, because the new URL is now the one Google believes in.
Two things to watch regardless. Chains — A to B to C — lose a little at every hop and time out at around five; redirect straight to the destination. And redirect to the equivalent page, not to the homepage: a mass redirect of dead URLs to / reads as a soft 404 and transfers nothing.
Common question
- How long should a 301 redirect stay in place?
- At least a year, and there is rarely a reason to remove one. Google needs months to fully transfer signals, and old links keep arriving long after that.
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